RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team had a balanced effort in a 15-6 win over Concordia University Chicago to begin the 2023 season on Sunday afternoon.

The host Cougars got on the scoreboard first with a goal 4:09 into play. The Belles came back with a quick response. After winning the draw control, Saint Mary's kept the ball alive on an offensive chance and capitalized as Molly Mullett buried the first goal of the season. The Belles then used a string of won draw controls to push the tempo offensively. Julia Gorski found the back of the net just 48 seconds after Mullet's goal to give Saint Mary's a lead that they never gave up. Erin Dotson added back-to-back goals in the span of 41 seconds after a pair of won draw controls for a 4-1 advantage. The scoring run continued after a strong re-defend gave the Belles the ball back deep in their offensive end as Gorski added her second goal of the contest. Saint Mary's again turned defense to offense after a Lindsey Herdsman ground ball turned into a scoring opportunity at the other end with Molly Mullett finding her second goal of the game for a 6-1 lead with 3:20 remaining in the quarter. The Cougars, however, broke up the six-goal scoring spurt with a late goal to make it a 6-2 score going into the second period.

The home side used a goal to start the second quarter to make it a three-goal difference, but the Belles again came back with a quick answer. Christiana Singler came away with the draw, and Paige Lyons registered the first goal of her career for a 7-3 lead. Erin Dotson extended the advantage back to five with a goal 15 seconds later. After a long stretch of back-and-forth play, Dotson struck again with under six minutes left on the clock to push the lead to 9-3. The Cougars tried to build some momentum with back-to-back goals, but a won draw control and goal by Molly Mullett saw the Belles take a 10-5 halftime lead.

The Belles got on the scoreboard first to begin the second half. A defensive stop led to an initial shot by Erin Dotson, which tailed just wide. Saint Mary's kept possession, and Lindsey Herdsman netted her first goal of the year after fighting through contact in the critical scoring area to give the Belles an 11-5 lead. Valentina Rubio, Christiana Singler, and Julia Gorski all caused turnovers of the next seven-plus minutes of action while neither side was able to get a shot to find the netting. A good clear, led by Valentina Rubio, followed by a strong re-defend with a ground ball pick up by Lindsey Herdsman kept an offensive chance alive late in the quarter. Christiana Singler sliced through the right side of the critical scoring area and buried a close-range shot to give the Belles a 12-5 lead with 4:05 still to go in the period as the Cougars called a timeout. The re-defend for Saint Mary's continued to be the difference as a late Concordia turnover after strong pressure led to a Molly Mullett goal with just 10 seconds remaining in the quarter for a 13-5 lead for the Belles.

The score remained unchanged for much of the fourth quarter. Molly Mullett came away with a ground ball with eight minutes to go. A patient offensive possession led to a strong feed from Alyssa Grant to a cutting Julia Gorski, and Gorski put away a shot from six meters out for a 14-5 lead with 7:47 to play. The Cougars got a goal back with 4:11 on the clock, but the Belles responded right back with an Alyssa Grant free position goal - her first collegiate goal in a Saint Mary's uniform - with 3:31 to go for a 15-6 lead. The Belles closed down the Cougars over the final three minutes of play to take the nine-goal win on the road.

 

Saint Mary's was dominant on the draw as the Belles held the 21-4 edge in draw controls in the contest.

 

Molly Mullett had four goals on four shots, an assist, three ground balls, and a team-high and game-best 10 draw controls in the victory. Erin Dotson added four goals, an assist, four draw controls, and two ground balls. Julia Gorski notched her first career hat trick for the Belles with three goals to go along with an assist, a ground ball, and a caused turnover. Christiana Singler and Alyssa Grant had a goal and two assists apiece as Grant picked up a game-high five ground balls. Lindsey Herdsman tallied a goal, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Paige Lyons posted a goal in the win, and Mia Salazar earned her first collegiate point with an assist. Valentina Rubio caused two turnovers and had three ground balls. Emma Zmudzinski collected the win in goal with four saves while playing all 60 minutes.

 

The Belles (1-0) travel to Beloit on Friday, March 3 for a 4:00 p.m. CST contest against the Buccaneers.